All eyes turn to Paris when photography takes center stage, and one question sets the tone for 2025 : how far will Elles x Paris Photo move the needle for women behind the camera. The initiative returns within the world’s leading photography fair with a clear promise : visibility, access, and concrete change, not just slogans.
Elles x Paris Photo is the program launched in 2019 by Paris Photo to boost the presence and recognition of women photographers across galleries, publishers, and institutions at the fair and online. For 2025, it aligns curatorial guidance, editorial content, and talks aimed at routing visitors straight to the works and voices that still get sidelined in the market and the canon.
Elles x Paris Photo 2025: context, proof, and the gap it tackles
Paris Photo, founded in 1997, has grown into a global hub for photography with galleries and institutions from around the world, according to the fair’s official materials. That scale matters, because what is visible at Paris Photo often sets the tone for programming and collecting in the year ahead.
The need is documented. World Press Photo’s “The State of News Photography 2018” reported that women accounted for 18% of working photojournalists globally, a figure that barely moved from earlier editions of the survey. This is not just a newsroom issue, it shapes how stories are told and who is trusted to tell them.
Market data points in the same direction. Artnet and In Other Words found that works by women represented just 2% of global auction sales between 2008 and 2019 in their study “Women Artists Market Report 2019”. Photography sits within that broader art economy, which means visibility at a major fair can translate into representation, acquisitions, and museum loans.
What to expect at the fair: a guided route, editorial focus, and real stage time
Elles x Paris Photo 2025 keeps a simple idea at its core : make discovery effortless. Visitors can expect a clearly identified selection that spotlights women artists across gallery booths and publishers, with an editorial layer that explains why each pick counts right now. Less wandering, more meaningful encounters.
The program also prioritizes public conversations. Panels and talks typically bring curators, artists, historians, and editors to the same table, which helps bridge the common gap between fair buzz and long term recognition. When artists speak about process, archives, and rights, collectives and curators listen. That is where momentum forms.
Digital matters too. Since its launch in 2019, Elles x Paris Photo has maintained an online presence that extends the fair’s reach beyond a single week in Paris. Profiles, interviews, and curated paths travel further than the aisles, and they keep working months after the booths have closed.
Planning for 2025: timing, access, and how to get the most from Elles x Paris Photo
The fair traditionally runs in the autumn in Paris, with Paris Photo sharing practical details, ticketing, and the exhibitor list on its official channels ahead of the event. That is where the Elles x Paris Photo route and programming are first teased, then confirmed.
For collectors and institutions, the 2025 edition is a chance to align acquisition plans with research. The data is public, the artists are present, and the network effect is powerful at Paris Photo. When a fair as visible as this one elevates a body of work, budgets often follow.
For students, educators, and editors, the program offers immediate tools : artist references to update syllabi and mood boards, publishing leads for commissions, and curatorial angles ready to be tested in the next season. It is definitly more than a tour of favorite names.
The practical path is straightforward : monitor the Paris Photo website and social feeds for 2025 announcements, then map the Elles x Paris Photo route to your priorities, from vintage prints to emerging voices. This is how the initiative delivers on its promise of visibility and how visitors turn that visibility into real outcomes for women photographers.